


ISC: Christmas at Paranor

by Tempest2004



Category: The Iron Druid Chronicles - Kevin Hearne, The Shannara Chronicles (TV)
Genre: F/M, Multi, Murder TW, but who cares, emetophobia tw, menstruation tw, probably a few improbilities
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2017-07-07
Packaged: 2018-11-22 12:08:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11379891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tempest2004/pseuds/Tempest2004
Summary: It's Christmas time! Or Solstice time! We're not sure!The family has gathered to celebrate each other and the time of year. But what's life without a little drama?But hey, 'tis the season for miracles!





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I know. It's July. And I'm writing about Christmas time. But this has been kicking around since last year and I couldn't post it because Shadows wasn't done.
> 
> And I know I've stated previously it's a three day trip to Arborlon from Paranor, but I'm suspending belief for plot. Also, it's Christmas, impossible things happen.

Snow flew as Allanon and I wrapped a rope around the trunk of a pine tree we’d picked out for a Christmas tree. Bandon was holding the gelding steady as we tied the rope. For added security, I bound the rope to the tree.

“Here,” Allanon said, walking over to take the reins from Bandon. “I’ll take him, son.” he said. Bandon flushed a little and moved aside, smiling.

“Okay, _Dad_.” he grinned at him. Allanon grinned back.

“Come on,” Allanon said, clucking to the gelding. “Get up there.” he snapped the reins and the Belgian began to pull the pine tree through the snow.

“Are you sure you’re warm enough?” Bandon asked, raising an eyebrow at my boots, jeans and long sleeve shirt instead of his heavy coat, hat, heavy boots and gloves.

“I’m good. I’ve got that binding that Dad taught me.” I said as we walked back in the trail that Allanon, the horse and the tree left.

“Are Atticus and the others coming for Christmas?” Bandon asked, adjusting his hat to come down over his ears more.

“They said they were.” I said, watching Allanon direct the Belgian to the huge front doors.

“Whoa.” he said, gently but firmly pulling the gelding to a halt. “Leave it here?” he asked, looking back at me.

“Yeah. You and Bandon put Luke away and I’ll take the tree inside.” I said.

“Be careful.” Allanon said, handing me the hatchet we’d used to clean the trunk so we could get the rope around it.

“Always.” I smiled and kissed his cheek before unbinding the rope from the tree and unwrapping it. Bandon coiled it up while Allanon shortened the reins and lead Luke back to the stable.

I tucked the hatchet into my belt and grabbed the tree by the base of sturdy branch and started pulling it inside.

~~

“Catania! Mama’s bringing the tree!” Liam hollered as I pulled it down the hallway.

“Coming!” she called, appearing around a corner. She grabbed a different branch and between the two of us, we hauled it into the living area and caught our breath for a moment.

“Here’s the stand Da made.” Liam said, carrying the metal stand with a bowl for water over.

“Thank you!” I said, smiling brightly. I took the stand and Catania helped me settle it on the trunk. Then I twisted the key that tightened the band with spikes driven into it around the trunk of the tree. It bit into trunk, holding it firmly in place. “All right, let’s get it up right.”

Catania and I reached in on either side and carefully lifted it up right.

“Look out, Liam.” I said and he ran out of the way as we set it up close-ish to the fire place. It was far enough away that it wouldn’t dry out and catch fire, but close enough that the heat from the fire place would radiate and warm it. “Good tree.” I said, looking it over.

“Lots of sap.” Catania said, wiggling her fingers and wrinkling her nose. I laughed.

“Come on, let’s see if we can’t get some of that off.” I said, pulling her towards the kitchen. “Come on, Liam!” I called.

“Coming, Mama!”

~~~

“Do we have anything to decorate it with?” Allanon said as we sat near the fireplace, soaking up the warmth and admiring the tree we’d picked out.

“I’ve been thinking about that.” I said, snuggling Liam on my lap as he drowsed. “We found that sewing room, remember? I think we can salvage some of the material to make cloth ornaments. Stars, snowflakes, balls.”

“There were a lot of drab colors in there.” Catania said, smiling as Bandon laid on a blanket and played with Amberle.

“I have some old necklaces that I don’t wear any more that have beads on them. We can take the beads off of there and sew them on the stars and snowflakes.” I said, warming up to the idea.

“We’ll be going to Arborlon soon anyway. We need supplies and to shop for presents.” Bandon said quietly, so as not to rouse Liam.

“That sounds good.” Catania said, reaching out to tickle Bandon’s side. He muffled a yelp and rolled onto his side to glare at her

She smiled back innocently.

“We can buy some colored paper to make paper chains. Properly stored, they last for a while.” I said, kissing Liam’s head.

“Wanna make chains.” he mumbled.

“So you will, love.” I murmured, pulling a blanket over him.

“We can go tomorrow.” Allanon said, smiling as Liam stretched out so he was on both of our laps.

“In this weather?” I asked, looking up at him.

“It’d only be for a day.” Allanon shrugged. “Bundle Amberle and Liam up. They can ride in the wagon with Bandon and Catania and we can ride Artaq and Kama.”

“You could hide presents in the wagon and we can bring home all the supplies we need in one go.” Bandon said, scooting away so Catania couldn’t reach him.

“We can take different colored blankets so we know who’s got what.” she said, frowning a little.

“We can take turns shopping for the other with Liam.” I said, smiling as Liam grumbled in his sleep a little. Rubbing his back soothingly, he calmed down and fell back into a deep sleep.

“And then we can shop for each other.” Allanon grinned, leaning over to kiss me.

“Ooh, I like that idea.” I murmured, returning the kiss.

“Ew-Aagh!” Bandon yelped as Catania reached out to tickle him with her toes.

She laughed, rolling onto her back and clutching her stomach.

~~~

Liam sat between Bandon and Catania, mostly bobble, partially child.

I had conceded to the weather by wearing a heavy leather coat that Allanon had given me for my birthday along with a pair of fur lined gloves from Catania for the same.

Bandon, bless his heart, had knitted me a hat that was a smidge too tight, but I wore it anyway because he lit up when he saw me wearing it.

Artaq snorted and stamped, sending up clouds of steaming breath as we started out.

Leaf whinnied as we left and Kama startled me by whinnying back.

“It’s all right, buddy.” I said, patting his neck fondly. “It’s just for the day.”

The trip was peaceful, mostly because it was too cold for bandits or Rovers to get up to much mischief. Liam was talking a mile a minute, excited about returning to Arborlon.

We arrived about mid-morning and after brief discussion, it was decided that Allanon would go with Bandon and Liam to shop while Catania, Amberle and I went to the local sewing shop to pick out material and supplies for making ornaments.

“I think I should make Liam some long sleeve shirts for Christmas.” I said, feeling the flannel.

“Because every child wants clothes for Christmas.” Catania grinned over at me.

“He’ll be getting plenty of toys, but he’s growing like a weed and needs clothes. Besides,” I said, pulling out a bolt of green and gold plaid. “I can make it so I can let it out as he grows. And when he’s done with it, if it’s still in one piece, Amberle can wear it.”

The baby in question giggled and waved her hands at me.

“That sound good?” Catania cooed at Amberle, smiling at the baby smiled up at her.

“Ciara?” Allanon said, walking into the store.

“What is it?” I asked, setting the bolt of cloth down.

“Liam’s biological aunt showed up.” he said grimly.

A spear of cold lanced through me and I grabbed the table to keep myself upright.

“What happened? How did he react? Where is he? If she did something, so help me-“ Allanon raised his hands, cutting me off.

“She saw that he was with me and approached me when Bandon took Liam off to look at something. She introduced herself and I told her the light version of what happened.” he said.

“And?” I asked, a sick feeling rising.

“She wants to meet him. Nothing more. Just that.” he said, putting his hands on my shoulders.

“ _Just_ that? Are you sure?” I asked, relief beginning to warm me.

“I’m certain. I made it clear that we are his parents now and that she would have no luck in prying him away from us.” he said. I closed my eyes and let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

“I should have seen this coming, I suppose.” I said, shaking my head.

“How? We didn’t know his biological mother had relatives.” Allanon wrapped his arms around me. “She knows that we will not be giving him up. There is no harm in her meeting him, so long as she knows that.” he said. I hugged him back for a long moment, then nodded.

“All right.” I said, pulling back and smiling up at him. “Thank you for letting me know.” he leaned down and kissed my forehead.

“It will be all right.” he said and hugged me tightly for a moment. “I had better get back. We’re shopping for you.” he grinned.

“Ooh, what are you buying?” I asked, smiling, but not feeling it.

“You’ll find out.” he smiled and kissed me before walking back out.

I went back to looking through the flannel, pulling out a blue and black plaid and fingering a teal and white plaid that I liked. I picked out a solid black and red as well.

“Do you think these will be all right for ornaments?” Catania asked, juggling Amberle and three bolts of multi colored cotton.

“I think they’ll be perfect. If we get enough, we can make patchwork ornaments too!”

~~~

We met back at the wagon and Liam was chattering about all the neat things he’d seen in the stores that he was heavily hinting at wanting.

“What say we have lunch, then you, me and Bandon can go shopping, while Da goes with Catania and Amberle?” I asked, forcing a bright smile.

“All right!” Liam agreed and took my hand and Allanon’s as we walked towards a little restaurant that wasn’t too busy for lunchtime.

 _Her name is Justine. I’ll point her out to you when she shows up_. Allanon said.

 _I don’t like this._ I said, a sick feeling settling in my stomach.

 _It will be all right. We won’t let her do anything to him._ Allanon said fiercely.

That made me feel much better.

We sat down and ordered. I kept glancing around, wondering who was the woman who was related to my son and whom I’d have to make permanently disappear if she became an issue.

Then the door opened and I caught Allanon tensing out of the corner of my eye.

She was older, maybe late forties, early fifties and she immediately spotted us. Honestly it wasn’t hard, since we were something of a motley group anyway.

“Hello, Justine.” Allanon said as she approached. “We didn’t expect to see you here.”

“No, not at all.” I said, resisting the urge to snarl at her.

“I was just coming in to pick up something to take home. I haven’t seen you two for so long!” she said with a wide smile that faltered when I didn’t return it.

“What a coincidence!” I said with such forced brightness that Bandon winced a little.

“Who is this handsome young man?” she asked, smiling at Liam. He peered at her shyly.

“This is Liam.” I said, unable to resist the urge to put my arm around his shoulders. “What do you say, Liam?” I asked.

“Hello.” he said quietly.

“Hello to you too!” she said and glanced around as a waiter came over with a small box. “Well, now that I have my order, I should be going. It was nice to meet you, Liam.”

“You too.” he said shyly, leaning towards me a little.

“Goodbye, Justine.” Allanon firmly when her gaze lingered a second too long. She flinched.

“Yes, of course.” she murmured and turned, walking quickly away.

“That was certainly strange.” Catania said, watching me.

“Life is strange, Catania.” I said as our food arrived.

~~~

By the time we returned home, I was exhausted both physically and emotionally.

We let the kids grab their presents and go inside, while Allanon and I took the horses into the stables to be rubbed down and fed. Leaf was beside himself to see Kama again and there was a great deal of whickering going on between them as I brushed and rubbed him down. The minute they were turned out, Kama, Artaq, Luke and Lily all went and rolled in the snow, with Leaf joining in for the hell of it.

“Are you all right?” Allanon asked quietly as unloaded the presents we’d bought.

“I’m exhausted.” I said and thought about that exchange between Allanon and Liam’s biological aunt. “What exactly did you say to her? You said goodbye and she acted like you’d raised your hand to her.”

“I made it clear that he is _our_ son and that she would have a better chance of stopping the sun from rising than trying to remove him from us.” he smiled darkly. “I also told her that should she become a nuisance, we would not hesitate to remove her. Permanently.”

“I take that back,” I said, blinking at him. “I am no longer exhausted. I’m horny as hell.”

He turned bright red.

“I will do anything to protect you and our family.” he said, wrapping his arm around me. He also tried to peek in my bag and I elbowed him in the chest.

“Sneak!” I accused, laughing. He laughed and kissed me for a long moment before we headed in.

~~~

I stared at Liam, wondering how he had managed to get glue not just in his hair, but in a majority of his hair.

“Can you get it out?” he asked plaintively.

“I…” I shook my head. “ _How?_ ”

“I knocked down a strip of paper and I bumped the table when I went to get it.” he explained and something about that seemed a little too pat.

“And you just _happened_ to be under the glue when it tipped over?” I asked, crossing my arms and raising an eyebrow.

“Well…” he shifted uncomfortably, looking away from me.

“Liam, sweetheart, did you deliberately put glue in your hair?” I asked, kneeling down to his height.

There was a long stretch of silence.

“Answer me, son.” I said, squeezing his shoulder gently.

“I… may have.” he admitted after a moment.

“Why?” I asked, restraining the urge to laugh.

“I wanted to see how it looked all stiff and sticking out.” he said. Then brightened up as he tried to explain his decision. “See, this way it won’t fall over! And it’ll stay like this!” he said and frowned a little. “Then I realized I wouldn’t be able to get my shirt off by myself.”

“So,” I did my absolute best to keep from laughing at him. “You decided to slather your hair in glue and turn it into a giant spike?” I asked, failing and laughing.

“It seemed like a good idea at the time.” he muttered defensively, turning red.

“Oh, my Liam.” I said and pulled him into a hug. He hugged me back after a minute and I kept my head away from his hair.

I didn’t want my hair to get mixed up in that.

“All right.” I said when we separated. “Normally, I would be able to undo the glue and while your hair would be stiff, it wouldn’t be a spike. But,” I shook my head at the spike and poked it a little.

Stiff as a board.

“Since you did such a marvelous job of spreading the glue absolutely _everywhere_ in your hair, I’m afraid it’s going to have come off. Winter’s not the best time for that, but it’s better than having to make you hats with a hole in the top.” I said. 

“Mama, you’re teasing me.” he whined.

“You’re right, baby, I’m sorry.” I apologized and laughed silently when he turned to look at Allanon walking into the room.

“What on-“ he broke off, looking between my shaking shoulders, Liam’s hair and the empty bottle of glue. “Ah. I see.”

“Mama’s gonna try and fix it!” Liam said, grinning widely at him.

“I’m gonna have to shave it off.” I said, getting to my feet.

“You are?” Liam asked, looking up at me with wide eyes.

“Yup.” I said, a little afraid of his reaction.

“Cool! Can you make my head all smooth and shiny?” he asked.

It was Allanon’s turn to laugh as I groaned.

~~

I didn’t make his head smooth or shiny, but he was happy with the buzz cut look.

“How long is it gonna take to grow out?” Liam asked, rubbing his hand over his now fuzzy head.

“We’ll have to see, sweetheart.” I said. “But if you keep rubbing it, it’ll grow faster.” I said.

He immediately dropped his hand.

“I wanna keep it like this!” he said, grinning widely.

“Well, make sure you don’t rub your hand all over it.” I said, laughing as he grinned brightly at me.

“Liam, can you help me with this, buddy?” Bandon called, trying to get the present for Allanon wrapped.

The boys had decided to pool their money and go in together on something for Allanon, instead of individual presents.

It was Liam’s idea for them to get Allanon a first edition book that he’d been eyeing the whole trip.

I trusted that Bandon knew it was something that Allanon would like because in all honesty I had barely gotten into the library here at Paranor.

We didn’t have the kind of wrapping paper I had as a kid, but there was plenty of brown paper in the sewing room, the kind I knew seamstresses used to make patterns, so with some creativity and a disturbing amount of string, we had devised a method of wrapping and sorting presents.

Everyone had a specific pile, in a place under-ish the tree and that’s where their gift went.

“Done!” Bandon said, tying the last knot and I rolled my eyes when I saw the elaborate pattern of knots he’d worked into the string.

“You do realize that he has to get it open at _some_ point, right?” I asked, grinning.

“It’ll be more worth it if he has to work at it.” Bandon grinned and high-fived Liam.

“You two are incorrigible.” I shook my head and gave them both a one armed hug. “All right, go put it in your father’s pile and I’ll let him and Catania know that I’m leaving you heathens to finish wrapping.” I said.

They hurried out and I shook my head, still laughing.

Headed for the kitchen, I made sure to knock on the door before I just walked inside.

“It’s okay.” Allanon called back. “We weren’t talking about you.” he smiled as I walked inside.

“That’s always nice to know.” I kissed him and looked at Catania. “They’re ready for you in the library. I’ll finish up dinner.” I said.

“Thank you.” she said and walked out of the kitchen. Amberle continued snoozing.

“All wrapped up and ready?” Allanon asked, watching as I continued chopping up the potatoes for the stew.

“Yup.” I said. “I figured we’d decorate the tree tomorrow night?” I said, glancing up as I paused in my chopping.

“And celebrate it on the Solstice?” Allanon asked,

“Yeah, sounds good.” I said. “Mom, Dad and the others should be here by then.”

“I’m surprised your family picked up on this particular holiday.” Allanon said, glancing at the crib where Amberle was happily dreaming.

“Why?” I asked, scraping the potatoes off the cutting board and picking up the meat.

“Because you told me it was a secular holiday and I didn’t think any of your family celebrated secular holidays.” he shrugged a little.

“It’s a little more complicated than that.” I said, cutting into strips. “It was a major holiday for more than just the people of that religion. So we celebrated it because they wanted me to have as normal childhood as could be managed growing up. I think they did a great job. Especially when Granda and Greta moved next door. That way, Mom and Dad could go and take care of Druid business and there would still be someone home with me.”

“So when was it celebrated in that time?” Allanon asked curiously

“Always on the twenty-fifth of December.” I said, shrugging a little and cutting strips into pieces.

“And how close to the Solstice is that?” Allanon asked with a mild grin.

“Depends on when it falls.” I said. “I’ve always been more aware of the Solstice than when Christmas is.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever fully understand you.” he said, shaking his head.

“Good.” I said and blew him a kiss.

~~~

“Ho ho ho!” Dad’s voice echoed through the front hall as he held the door open for Mom and the rest.

“Holy crap, it’s Atticus Claus!” I grinned back as they shuffled in, stamping the snow off their sandals.

“Your family has a strange preoccupation with sandals.” Allanon shook his head as he greeted Dad.

“It’s easy to kick them off when we need quick access to the earth.” he said and handed Allanon a stack of packages as he helped Mom juggle Thorin and her coat.

“Hey, lass.” Granda said, hugging me tightly. “Yer lookin’ good.” he said.

“You’re not looking too bad yourself, old timer.” I teased and hugged him back.

“Grampa!” Liam shouted, running down the hall and launching himself at Dad.

“Hey, kiddo!” Dad said, leaning down to scoop him up. “How are you?”

“I’m great! I’m really happy to see you!” he said.

“I’m happy to see you too!” Dad said and did a double take when he saw that Liam’s head was fuzzy. “Interesting aesthetic, kiddo, but isn’t it a little cold for a shaved head?” he looked at me curiously.

“Someone decided to style their hair with glue.” I said, reaching out to rub Liam’s ridiculously soft head.

“Grampa, what’s aesthetic mean?” Liam asked as Dad set him down.

“It means you like a certain look.” Dad said. “Or how something looks. Like how your Mom always wears t-shirts and jeans? That’s aesthetic.”

“Oh.” Liam said and fell quiet as he considered this.

“Oh, my goodness.” I said as Mom passed me Thorin. “Look at how big you’ve gotten.” I smiled as he grinned up at me, waving his hands at me.

“He’s a regular little charmer.” Mom grinned as we made our way to the living room.

<And _loud_. > Oberon said, his head dropping.

“He’ll start sleeping through the night soon, bud.” Dad said, reaching down to scratch his ears.

<He’s louder than Little Druid was.>  Orlaith chimed in.

“Wow, my record has been broken.” I said and smiled down at my baby brother. “Good job, kiddo.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Granda rolled his eyes.

“I thought I heard a crotchety old man.” Bandon grinned as we entered the living room.

“Aye, ye did, little brat.” Granda said fondly, walking over and hugging him.

Of all the surprising things that had happened since I’d woken up, the bond between Granda and Bandon was definitely near the top of the list.

“Hey! Anyone home?” a voice called and Allanon set the stack down on a chair and went to open it.

“Ci!” he called after a moment. I turned and stuck my head around the corner.

“Go away, we don’t have enough chairs.” I grinned as Wil, Eretria, Arion, Ander and Diana came in and spread snow in our entrance way.

“Am I welcome?” Agatha asked, stepping through the door and pulling her hood down as a young woman stepped in behind her.

“Of course.” I said, smiling a little at her. “And who is this lovely young lady?” I asked, turning to smile at the young girl.

“It’s okay.” Agatha said, looking at the young girl behind her.

“My name is Angelique. I prefer Angel.” she said, pulling her hood down.

I sucked in a tiny gasp, seeing how short her hair had been cut. And how splotchy it was.

“Welcome to Paranor, Angel.”

~~~

“I’ve heard rumors that you’re almost ready to start accepting apprentices?” Ander asked as they shook the snow off their cloaks and jackets and followed us into the living room.

“We’re close. We’ve gotten a bunch of rooms cleaned out and we’re working out lesson plans, but I’m a little concerned about being able to feed and clothe all the mouths. Some of them might have families that accept them, but if history has taught me anything, there won’t be many of them.” I said, taking their cloaks and jackets and hanging them up to dry by the fire.

“What if you could work out a deal with a local farmer?” Arion asked. “That way it could supplement your resources until you can become self-sufficient. Or at least relatively close to self-sufficient.”

“That might work. We’d pay for what we use, of course.” Allanon said.

“That farmer up the road where we bought our supplies has a big farm.” Bandon said, smiling as Amberle gurgled at Granda. “He doesn’t seem too bad either. We might be able to work something out with him.”

“After the Solstice, we’ll take a trip over there.” Allanon said. “See if he’s amenable. If he is, we might be able to start accepting apprentices sooner than we thought.”

“Maybe do semesters, so those with parents can go home to see them.” I said, as Arion set the packages that they had brought down.

“I don’t think many of them will have parents.” Angel said quietly, sitting beside the fire and staring at it.

“Ciara, Allanon, can I speak with you privately for a moment?” Agatha asked, glancing at Angel.

“Of course. Let’s go talk in the kitchen.” I said and motioned for them to go ahead of me.

Angel glanced up for a moment as we left the room, then went back to staring at the fire.

“She’s a Firestarter.” Agatha said the minute we were alone. “Her parents…” her lips thinned into a line of anger. “They mistreated her, as you can tell. I’ve been trying to help her as best I can, but…”

“How did you come to find her?” Allanon asked.

“There were allegations laid against them when the neighbors hadn’t seen Angel in a while. When King Ander found out what was going on, he asked me to care for her, since I was the only one in Arborlon who had any knowledge of Firestarter’s.” she explained. “There’s been a few incidents, but nothing life threatening so far. I can’t reach her.” Agatha said. “I’ve tried, but I can’t get any traction.”

“You’re worried that she’s going to have an incident and set fire to the palace?” Allanon asked.

“Yes.” Agatha said.

“Think we’re ready to take her on?” I asked, looking at Allanon.

“I think we have to.” he replied, leaning back in his chair. “She has a powerful gift. One that’s beyond her control. It’s our duty to help her.”

“All right. Does she have her things with her?” I asked, looking at Agatha.

“She has a change of clothes and a stuffed dog. That’s all she has.” Agatha said, her lips thinning again. “There are a few things for her in the presents we brought.”

“Well,” I said cheerfully. “’Tis the season for miracles!” I said.

“Uh, Ciara, Allanon, you guys might want to come out here.” Bandon said, sticking his head into the kitchen.

We hurried out of the kitchen and into the living room, where the fire in the fireplace was high and dancing as Angel stared at it.

“Mama.” Liam said, running over to me as soon as I appeared.

“Okay, it’s okay.” I said, hugging him and stroking his hair. “It’s all right.” I said and glanced at Allanon.

“Do you want to do it?” he asked quietly.

I glanced at Angel, who was mesmerized by the flames.

“Yeah. Take everyone into the kitchen.” I said and gently directed Liam to Allanon.

“Careful, Ci.” Dad said as he helped Diana out of her chair and ushered them out.

“Always, Da.” I replied, pulling a chair over by the fireplace. “You know,” I said, watching the flames flicker and pop. “There’s a legend about people who can manipulate fire.”

“That we’re all evil?” Angel said, her voice inches above a snarl and the flames roared angrily.

“No.” I said, still watching the flames. “That they’re life givers. Sources of joy and warmth.”

“That’s impossible.” Angel said and the flames subsided a little

“Not really.” I said. “The sun gives life and joy and warmth. It helps plants to grow and without the sun, the Earth would have no life on it.”

“My parents always said I was evil.” she said, still not looking at me.

 _Can I come in? I might be able to help._ Bandon said.

 _Sure. Just make sure you make noise to let her know you’re there. I don’t want any surprises. And I want to keep my eyebrows._ I said. I heard him snicker.

“That’s pretty neat.” Bandon said, walking into the room with his hands in his pockets.

Angel glanced at him, suspicion clear on her face.

“It’s dangerous.” she said, turning back to the fire.

“Yeah.” he agreed. “But it’s better than seeing people’s death every time you touch someone.”

“That does sound like it would suck.” Angel agreed after a minute.

“It did. For a long time.” he said and not so casually put his hand on my shoulder.

Angel watched him for a minute.

“You’re not getting a vision.” she said after a minute.

“No, I’m not.” he said and glanced at me. I nodded, just a little. “Ciara and Allanon taught me how to control it. They’re pretty cool teachers.”

“I can control it.” Angel snapped and the flames roared, throwing a great deal of heat. She flushed and the flames dropped again. “Mostly.”

“We can teach you to not be afraid of it.” I said quietly. “We can teach you how to control it so it’s not tied to your emotions. So you can be angry and happy and sad and not have to worry about hurting yourself or anyone else.”

“We can give you purpose and control.” Bandon said, perhaps unconsciously echoing Allanon. “We can give you safe haven and no one will ever be able to hurt you ever again.”

“I don’t need a safe haven.” Angel said.

“I didn’t think I needed one either.” Bandon said. “I didn’t think I needed anyone. I’d gotten used to being by myself, tied up in that damn barn.”

Angel’s head snapped up to stare at him.

“You were- But-“ she stopped, flushing.

“Yeah, my parents were pretty awful.” he said, watching her. “But I found a safe haven here, I found a place I belong and I want to help others find what I’ve found.” he grinned a little sheepishly. “I’m not very good at giving reassurance.”

“You’re doing okay.” she said, flushing a little.

 _Better turn on the big brother mode, kiddo. You don’t want her crushing on you._ I warned.

“Why don’t you let the fire die down a little and then we can get something to eat? I bet you’re hungry.” Bandon said. After a moment, Angel let the flames lower and got up, silently following Bandon out of the living room.

I leaned back in the chair and sighed, feeling the tension of the last few minutes leave my body.

“Well,” Allanon said, coming into living room. “It appears we have our first apprentice.”

“Yup. Who has a propensity for setting things on fire.” I said, watching as he stood staring at the fire.

“We have to start somewhere.” he smiled at me. “And we seem to specialize in troubled kids.”

“I think it goes with the territory.” I got and walked over to wrap my arms around him. “How do you think Galaphile managed it? Starting an order of Druids with kids who have bad home lives?”

“Very carefully.” Allanon said, returning the embrace. “He did build Paranor out of stone after all.”

I laid my head against his chest and laughed.

~~

After dinner we collected into the living room again and divided presents into piles.

“I get presents too?” Angel asked, sounding astonished.

“Of course.” I said, smiling at her. “No one gets left out at Christmas. Or Solstice. What did we decide to call this holiday?” I looked at Allanon, who looked back blankly from in front of the fireplace.

“Uh… Christice?” he guessed. I laughed.

“I don’t think-“ I broke off, still laughing. “Oh, gods. Let’s just go with Solstice. It’s close enough.”

“Whatever you say, love.” he got up to kiss my cheek. “Now, Liam, Bandon and Angel, why don’t we go get the decorations?” Allanon clapped his hands gently.

“Sure!” Liam said enthusiastically.

“You get to carry the heaviest one.” Bandon said, grinning at Allanon, who grinned back.

“I think you should carry it. You’re younger than I am.” he retorted and winked at Angel. “What do you think, Angel? I’d say he’s stronger than I am.”

“You could both carry it.” she suggested shyly, flushing a little.

“Excellent idea! I should have thought of it myself!” Allanon enthused and I smiled as he motioned for Angel to walk with him and Bandon as Liam rushed ahead of them.

“That pile’s awfully small, if the lass needs so much.” Granda said, frowning at the pile of Angel’s presents.

“I didn’t have much time to get her anything.” Agatha agreed.

“What’s in there?” I asked, glancing in the direction they’d vanished in.

“A coat, shirt, pants, a skirt and a book.” Agatha said, shaking her head. “I didn’t have much to spend on her either.” she said and threw me a vaguely reproving look.

“We only have so much to go around.” I said mildly. “I think…” I trailed off, thinking. “I think we might be able to find something for her.”

“More clothes, certainly.” Catania said. “I have some clothes that are too small for me now that I’ve had Amberle and I’ve been training.” she shrugged. “It wouldn’t take much to alter them to fit her.”

“I have her measurements.” Agatha said, turning to dig in the small satchel with her cloak. “We went to the palace seamstresses for a change of clothes after she arrived.”

“Thank you.” Catania said as Agatha handed the paper over. “Yes, it won’t take much. I can even make it so they can be let out and down.”

“I’ve got some jewelry I don’t wear that wasn’t sacrificed to make decorations.” I said. “It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing.”

“And we still have some material left over from the ornaments and Liam’s shirts. We can make her something out of those.” Catania said.

“I’m proud of ye, Ciara.” Granda said suddenly, his voice thick. “Yer doin’ a good thing takin’ that lass in and makin’ sure she’ll have a merry Solstice.”

“Thank ye, Granda.” I said, walking over to give him a hug. “It’s nothin’ any of us wouldn’t have done.”

“Ye raised a good woman, Siodhachan, Granuaile.” Granda said, patting my arm.

“You had a hand in it, Owen.” Dad said.

I have never actually seen Granda flush, but I did then.

We were rescued from anymore embarrassing sentiment when Liam came into the room, carrying a box, followed by Angel with another box and then Allanon and Bandon carrying a massive box between them.

“What on earth is that?” I asked as they set it at my feet.

“Open it and find out.” Allanon said gleefully.

I blinked at them and opened the box to find dozens of ornaments and garland and things I hadn’t seen in… Well, right around fifteen thousand years.

“Allanon, how- Where-“ I broke off, looking up at him in astonishment. “I haven’t- These are-“

“We did it.” Bandon said, laughing. “We finally made her speechless.”

“Allanon, you tell me how you did this, right this minute.” I said, stamping my foot.

“Actually, it was us.” Wil said, raising his hand a little.

“When we were taking Amberle to the Bloodfire, we found an old school buried under the ground. So Wil and I went back and found, well, it looked like a store. We didn’t fall into it this time, but it was a near thing.” Eretria said, her hand resting on her stomach.

“It had all these in there.” Wil gestured at the box. “We didn’t know what they were, but Eretria likes shiny things-“ he broke off laughing when she slapped his arm. “So we got them out.”

“But how did you get them here?” I asked.

“We did it while you were shopping.” Allanon said, just about bouncing on his feet. “It just so happened that I knew when we were going to run out of supplies and Wil had mentioned they’d found these on their last visit. I put two and two together and conspired with them to make it happen.”

“But how did you get it inside? I didn’t see it in the cart.” I asked, looking between them.

Bandon grinned.

“An invisibility rune on it.” he said and turned the box so I could see it. “Set it up against the seat so you wouldn’t think to check it by our blankets.”

“I’ve been outsmarted.” I said, throwing my hands up. “I don’t know whether to yell or kiss you.”

“Kisses please.” Allanon said, coming over to kiss me.

“I’ll take one on the cheek. I’m sort of married.” Bandon said as he came over as well.

“I admit it. I had no idea any of you were in on this.” I said, ruffling Bandon’s hair.

“Does this mean we won’t use the ornaments we made, Mama?” Liam asked, looking ready to be disappointed.

“Of course we’re going to use the ornaments we made.” Allanon said, scooping him up.

“Those are going right on the tree.” I agreed and kissed his forehead. “Why don’t you, Da and I decorate the tree while everyone does the rest of the living room with the ones that Da and the others brought here?”

“Yeah!” Liam agreed and Allanon set him down.

The next hour was a flurry of activity. Mom and Dad directed traffic and gave Diana and Eretria the final say in some of the trickier placements. Allanon, Liam and I had fun decorating the tree and Allanon lifted Liam up so he could the put the paper chains up higher.

The one ‘store bought’ thing I insisted on putting on the tree was the star. It was a simple, silver star that sat on a coil to rest atop the tallest part of the tree.

Allanon had to give me a boost so I could reach up there.

“You know,” he caught me with one arm around my back and the other behind my knees. “I do like that view of you.” he murmured and kissed me.

“You’re incorrigible and I love it.” I kissed him back.

“Hey, not in front of the kids.” Mom laughed, throwing a length of garland at me.

“Like you and Dad restrained yourselves around me growing up.” I said as Allanon set me down, one arm curled around my waist.

“Some of us have seen too much already.” Bandon grinned as Allanon groaned and dropped his head on my shoulder. I laughed, pressing a kiss to the side of his head.

“Are you ever going to let that go?” Allanon asked plaintively, looking up at Bandon.

“Never.”


	2. Part 2

Allanon and I sat up in the living room of our suite after Liam had gone to bed. I had asked Angel to help me measure out something in hand widths and then taken the paper with us when it was time for bed.

“Will that work for both hands?” Allanon asked after I’d carefully cut the hand pattern out of the paper and then traced it with white chalk onto a part of a piece of flannel left over from one of Liam’s new shirts.

“Oh, yes. Gangly as she is, her hands will still be the same size.” I said, putting the chalk down and picking up the scissors. “How’s the hat coming?”

“Almost done.” he said, carefully sewing the last bit of the seam. “There. That part’s done.” he said, clipping the thread off with another pair of scissors.

“Great. Feel like stitching up a glove?” I asked, moving carefully around the pinkie. Allanon stayed quiet until I had finished cutting them out.

“Why not.” he said, putting a knot on the end of the thread. “You said that Catania’s altering clothes for her?”

“Yeah. Doing darts is not of my favorite things, so I’ll leave that to her. She’s better at them then I am.” I said, cutting out another glove.

“You know,” Allanon said, frowning a little at the flannel. “This won’t do much to keep her hands warm. Not without something on the outside of it.”

“It’s better than nothing.” I said. “I didn’t think about finding any leather at the shop and I didn’t see any in the sewing room.” I finished cutting the pattern out.

“Here.” he said, moving the sewing kit between us. “It doesn’t have to be leather. Just some sturdy material.” he began stitching the gloves together, using a lock stitch, or blind hem stitch, that was tinier and neater than anything I’d ever been able to do.

I was a little jealous.

“Tell you what. You work on those and I’ll be right back.” I said, setting the pattern down.

“Okay.” he said distractedly, concentrating on his work.

I shook my head with a smile and headed for the sewing room, slipping inside and lighting one of the crystals that Ander, Arion and Diana had brought with them from Arborlon.

Honestly, they were forever bringing them and it seemed as though we were forever needing them.

“Where is…” I trailed off, looking around until I spied my prize.

I gathered it up and then picked up another important item and shut the crystal off before I hurried back to our suite.

“Look what I found.” I said setting the brown corduroy down on the table in front of the couch.

“That’s perfect, love.” Allanon said, smiling at me. “What’s the bag?”

“I _think_ they’re buckles.” I sank down on the couch and opened the tied bag. “No, they’re buttons. But that will work just fine.” I said happily.

“Hm.” Allanon said, going back to work on the flannel.

I smiled and picked up the other set, starting on outside and working towards the thumb.

“Your stitches are rather big.” Allanon said, glancing at me.

“Oh, shush.” I said, tugging the thread through. He smiled and went back to his set, finishing them a few moments later.

“Would you like me to do that?” he asked. I paused and gave him a look. He raised his hands. “Just an offer.” he said and picked up the hand pattern and set about making the outer part of the gloves.

By the time I was finished with my glove, he’d cut one set out of the corduroy and was beginning on the second.

“When you’re done with that,” I said after he’d finished a tricky part of the thumb. “Cut, say, a two inch length. Two of them, please.”

“Why?” he asked, finishing up the pattern and doing as I asked.

“I’m going to give her a way to fasten the gloves down so they won’t fall off.” I said, taking the second set from him and carefully matching them to the edges of the flannel.

“Do we want to line the top with something?” Allanon asked, picking up his set and doing the same thing.

“I can knit up something to put on the cuffs. It won’t take long.” I said, wincing a little when I stabbed myself with the needle. I checked, but there was no blood, just a stinging finger.

We stitched in silence, making certain the seams would hold. They were too small for either us to try on, but would be perfect for Angel. And if they were a little big, then she could grow into them.

“Now, for the last bit.” I said and attached the strap and gingerly made a hole for the buttons. Then I sewed the buttons on and handed it to Allanon. “Your stitches are better for button holes than mine.”

He kissed the back of my hand and quickly did the button hole while I set up the other glove for him.

By the time they were done, they had two shiny gold buttons each, for when she gained a little weight and her wrists filled out. And if she needed more room, then I could add another button and teach her to make her own gloves.

“Now the easy part.” I said, counting out how many stitches I’d need for the cuffs. Allanon sat up with me, reading a book while I made the cuffs and sewed them on.

The wool was a darker brown that went very nicely with the brown corduroy.

The gloves were gorgeous and I couldn’t wait for her to see them.

“Ciara,” Allanon said as we finally cleaned up from our project and set about wrapping the hat and gloves. “Do you think we should do something to make them, you know, fire proof?”

“Hm.” I said. “Why don’t we leave that up to Angel.” I tied the final knot as he passed me the wrapped hat.

“Good idea.” he said and smiled as I yawned. “Here, let me take those down.”

“I can get-“ I yawned again.

“Go to bed, love.” he kissed me gently. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“All right.”

~~

The next morning Liam knocked on our door, waking us up as the cold dawn light of the Solstice started coming through our window.

“Mama, Da, Granda says it’s time for layabouts to get up.” he said.

“Tell Granda to shove it up his ass.” I muttered, snuggling down into the warm blankets and Allanon.

“At least he waited until dawn.” Allanon murmured sleepily. “Be there soon.” he called.

“Okay!” Liam said and we heard him head off.

“How much longer do you think we can sleep before they set the hounds on us?” I asked, rolling over to bury my face in his chest.

“I give it ten minutes.” he said, sounding as though he was ready to drop off.

“M’kay.” I said and let sleep pull me back under.

It turned out to be another hour before I jerked as something heavy landed on the bed.

<Come on, Little Druid! It’s Solstice and Atticus promised us _two_ strings of sausages each! > Oberon said enthusiastically, thumping his tail against the bed frame loudly.

“Oh, all right.” I groaned, stretching. “Come on, love, before we cause a riot.” I said, kissing him before sliding out of bed and pulling a robe on.

“It’s too early.” Allanon said, rolling over.

“Liam’s likely to burst if we delay anymore.” I said, headed for the water closet. As soon as business was taken care of, I smiled to see Allanon was at least sitting up right.

“I’m really not a morning person.” he muttered, getting up and heading the way I’d just come.

“I hadn’t guessed.” I laughed and pulled out his robe.

“All right, let’s get the shrieking masses over with.” he curled his arm around my waist as we headed out after Oberon.

“It’s about time.” Granda said as we entered the living room.

I informed Granda about his heritage in no uncertain terms in Old Irish and caused both Mom and Dad laugh uproariously while Catania turned bright red.

“Is that even possible?” she asked when I’d finished.

“With time, patience and a great deal of lubricant.” I said and grinned at the shocked looks.

“Can we open presents _now_?” Liam asked, his impatience getting the better of him.

“Sure, sweetie. Sit down, Allanon, Bandon and I can do present duty.” I said. Liam clambered up next to Allanon and watched expectantly.

It was chaos at first, but then it settled down when Bandon and I just picked up piles and delivered them to the correct person.

“Here, Allanon,” Bandon said, holding up the book with the incredibly intricate network of knots. “This one is from Liam and I.”

“Agatha, these are for you.” I said, holding out a small stack.

“You didn’t-“ she broke off. “Not after-“

“It’s in the past. Benefits of a long lifetime is that you learn to live and let live.” I smiled and patted her shoulder. “Angel, come over here a minute.” I said.

“Yes?” she asked curiously.

“Hold out your arms.” I said and she raised them as I set the several packages into them. “Merry Solstice.”

“I-“ she broke off, looking bewildered.

“Why don’t you sit by us as you open them?” Allanon suggested, motioning towards the seat next to Liam.

“Yeah!” Liam said enthusiastically. Angel’s jaw worked for a moment, then silently she went to sit and cautiously began to poke at her packages.

“You _do_ want me to get this open, don’t you, Bandon?” Allanon asked exasperatedly as he worked at the knots.

Bandon giggled and went back to his presents.

“I don’t think we fully freed him from the Dagda Mor’s influence.” Allanon muttered as I sat beside him with my pile at my feet.

“That was his idea.” I said and Allanon looked at me, raising the book a little plaintively. “Sorry, stud, you’re on your own there.”

Allanon turned bright red at the nickname.

“What’s a stud?” Liam asked.

“Your Da.” I said and winked at Allanon who groaned and buried his face in his hands. I laughed and kissed his cheek.

I was gifted with several books, an new sheath for Crucible, a set of tattoo tools and another hat from Bandon.

“Those last two are from me.” Allanon said and leaned over to whisper in my ear. “There’s a third one, but that’ll have to wait until tonight.”

“Ooh.” I said and kissed him gently.

“Go on, open them.” Allanon said and looked down as he freed the second to last knot. “Who taught you these, Bandon?” he demanded, shaking his head as he began to pick at the last one.

“I had a lot of free time.” Bandon said.

The first package was about the size of the box he’d given me my wolf charm in way back when. I opened it carefully and gasped when I saw the iron triskelion inside, inlaid with the same knotwork as the one on the back of my right hand.

“Allanon, it’s gorgeous!” I said and threw my arms around his neck, kissing him soundly.

“You’re welcome.” he said. “Perhaps this will allow you to have iron in your aura on days you don’t feel like wearing your whole necklace.” he smiled as I put it on.

“I do love you.” I said. He kissed me then motioned at the other package.

“I love you too. One more to go.” he said and winked at me. “Ah-ha! Got it.” he said as he managed to undo the last knot.

Then he pulled the paper off and blinked.

“How did- Bandon, Liam, how did you two afford this?” he asked, staring at them.

“We had a bit of help.” Bandon said and glanced at Arion, who grinned impishly.

“Ran into them at the bookstore while I was picking something up for Diana and when they mentioned what they wanted but were short…” he shrugged.

“I’m… I have no words.” Allanon said. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” they said in unison and laughed.

Allanon’s other gift for me was a leather bag that looked like it could be a replacement for my medicine bag, which, admittedly, was beginning to fall apart.

“This is magnificent, love, thank you so much.” I said and kissed him.

“Da? I think there’s something wrong with Angel.” Liam said quietly. We turned to look at her and she was sitting there with her clothes and the book and the hat and gloves and the scarf that Mom had sewn and just stared at them, not saying a word.

“Sometimes, Liam,” I set my things down and held out my arms for him. “A person just needs a few minutes to absorb something. It doesn’t mean that there’s anything wrong, but that they just need some time for it to sink in. Understand?” I asked, kissing his temple.

“Yeah.” he said and held Hobbes tight.

Slowly the crowd left the living room, after it had been cleaned up and the fire had consumed the paper and string.

And still Angel sat, staring at the gloves we’d made for her last night.

“Angel, are you okay?” I asked, kneeling where she could see me.

“Let me.” Eretria said, moving to sit beside her.

I backed off a little to give them some privacy.

“We should give Angel some time to settle in before we begin training her.” Allanon said, coming up beside me and kissing my temple.

“Agreed.”

~~~

I grunted as I threw the manure from Kama’s stall onto the pile in the corner of the pasture.

“You know, if you could consider crapping on the pile, that’d be spectacular.” I said, leaning on the pitchfork.

He snorted, tossing his head and moved off to a hay pile, to make more work for me later.

“Do you always talk to horses?” Angel asked, walking up to Kama’s stall.

“I’ve found that sometimes horses are smarter than people. Just not as selective about where they go the bathroom.” I grinned at her. She laughed quietly.

“Is there something I can do to help?” she asked.

“You can help me fill their water trough.” I said, throwing the last of the manure onto the pile.

“I think I can do that.” she said, moving back as I left the pasture via Kama’s stall. “Who’s the big black horse?”

“That’s Artaq, Allanon’s horse. He’s a sweetheart, if a little stubborn.” I said and laughed a little. “Which also describes Allanon.”

Angel smiled, but didn’t take her eyes off of Artaq.

“He’s gorgeous.” she said quietly.

“He is. And he’s a smooth ride.” I said, leading her over to the pump we’d put in by the wooden fence where the trough was. It made carrying water to the garden easier.

“I’ve never ridden a horse.” Angel said as I showed her how to hang a bucket on the pump.

“After the Solstice, if the weather holds, we can do something about that.” I said cheerfully, entering the pasture and breaking open the ice. “Oh, dear.” I said, seeing how thick it was getting.

“Is something wrong?” Angel asked, walking over to the fence and setting the bucket down.

“The ice is collecting and forming a thick layer. And I didn’t grab something to break it with.” I said and glanced at her. “Say, would you like to try?” I gestured at the metal trough.

“I-I don’t want to burn it.” she said hesitantly.

“The best thing about metal,” I said and opened the gate for her to enter. “Is that it can take a bit of heat before anything happens to it. And it’s far enough from the fence that it won’t burn the fence.”

“I’ll try.” she said uncertainly and pulled her gloves off, tucking them into a pocket. She walked over and put her hands on the rim, wincing a little at the cold metal.

After a few minutes, some of the ice began to melt.

“Very good.” I said quietly, watching her face redden with effort. “Easy now, it just needs to melt enough for it to come loose.”

Then she pulled back, gasping.

“I can’t do anymore.” she said, bending over to put her hands in the snow to cool them.

“That’s just perfect.” I said, taking off my own gloves and reaching into the cold water to pull at the ice. It came loose after a few tugs and I threw it under the fence where it skidded on the snow before coming to a stop where the garden would be next year.

“Why’d you do that? Isn’t your hand cold?” Angel asked as I tugged my gloves back on.

“That’s part of the fun. See how fast you can do something before your hand gets too cold.” I said and grinned when I heard snow crunch behind me.

I turned to see Artaq walking over to nose me for a treat.

“You always know when I have a carrot for you.” I said, rubbing his forehead fondly. He reached out to lip at the pocket where I kept the carrots.

“Can I pet him?” Angel asked, approaching cautiously.

“Sure! Here, you can even give the beggar his carrot.” I said, pulling a carrot out and pushing his muzzle away before he could snatch it. “Hold your hand out flat, like this.” I said, showing her how to hold her hand. “Put it in your palm and hold it so he can find it.”

Artaq stepped carefully towards Angel and I smiled at the look of awe on her face as he carefully picked up the carrot and then crunched it.

“He’s so fluffy.” she said, petting his forehead.

“This is his winter coat. In the summer he’s smooth and shiny.” I said as the other horses came over. “You go ahead and keep petting him while I give the rest of them their carrots.” I said and patted Artaq’s shoulder.

After the other horses had gotten their treats and went back to the hay, I looked over to see Artaq was nosing Angel’s face, earning quiet giggles.

In the distance, I saw Allanon emerge from the kitchen and make his way over to us. He glanced at me as Artaq dropped his head so Angel could rub his ears.

 _It seems you have some competition for Artaq’s affections_. I teased.

 _I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so gentle around anyone but the family_. Allanon said.

Many times we’d caught Liam out in the fields, petting Leaf and being followed around by Artaq, who had apparently taken it upon himself to keep Liam from getting trampled by the other horses.

 _He’s got a good temperament. Seems like he’s meant to be a Druid’s horse._ I replied.

“It’s lunchtime, if you’re interested.” Allanon said quietly, not willing to interrupt the moment.

“I am hungry.” Angel said as Artaq looked up at Allanon.

“You have a knack with him. He doesn’t usually do that for me.” Allanon said, leaning on the fence.

“Do what?” Angel asked, rubbing Artaq’s head once more before walking to the fence. The stallion turned and trotted to a hay pile, nipping playfully at Kama, initiating a game of tag.

“Put his head down for me to rub his ears.” Allanon opened the gate for us. “I think he’s argued with me every time I’ve tried to do anything with them, even just rub them.”

“You’re too much alike.” I said as we turned to watch the big stallion and my gelding play.

“I’d like to come back and visit with him.” Angel said hesitantly. “If it’s okay.”

“You know,” I said, winking at Allanon. “We’ve been talking it over and we’d like you to come live here. If you’re interested.”

“What about Agatha?” Angel asked.

“You can ask her about it.” he said, touching her shoulder gently. “Really it’s up to you. But if you don’t want to, that’s all right too.”

Angel fell quiet and I opened the door for us to troop inside.

The kitchen was warm after being out in the cold and I helped Angel out of her coat.

“Just in time! I knew you wouldn’t be able to tear yourselves away from the horses any time soon.” Catania teased as she carried a large bowl of potatoes.

“Hey, it’s not our fault horses are better company.” I teased back.

“Yes, they don’t talk back, unlike certain apprentices I could name.” Allanon said, grinning.

“Do you ride?” Angel asked, picking up a bowl of gravy without being asked.

“Not really. Ciara keeps saying I should learn, but I don’t really like to ride.” Catania said.

“Ciara said I could ride after the Solstice, if the weather stays nice.” Angel said, following Catania out of the kitchen to the dining room.

“Really?” Allanon asked, grinning at me.

“If you’d seen the way she was looking at Artaq, you’d have agreed too.” I said, kicking my boots off.

“Think he’s safe enough for her to ride?” Allanon asked, hanging his coat up by the kitchen fireplace to dry.

“I think so. Maybe you should be the one to teach her to ride him. You two seem like you’re ready to bond over him.” I said, hanging my coat up as well.

We entered the dining room and I paused, not just from the wall of sound, but from the warm fuzzies that built up in my chest upon seeing all the bright, smiling faces around the table.

“Just think,” Allanon murmured in my ear, guessing what I was feeling from the look on my face. “Someday this will be apprentices and our children.” he kissed my temple and went to sit at the head of the table, the right hand seat left open for me.

It was a future I couldn’t wait for.

~~

“Agatha.” Angel said hesitantly after dessert. “I was thinking… Allanon and Ciara asked if I wanted to come live here and…” she trailed off, looking down at her plate. “Would-would you be mad if I did?” she asked and cringed, clearly expecting a terrible response.

I bit back every inch of anger I was feeling and made a mental note to ask Ander if her parents were still alive.

“It’s your decision, Angel.” Agatha said gently. “If that’s what you wish, then I will be happy for you. If you do not, then I will still be happy for you.” she put her hand next to Angel’s on the table. “My main concern is your happiness. If you wish to live here, then I will be sure to come and visit as often as I can.”

Angel looked ready to cry and Agatha hugged her tightly for a long moment.

“Now,” Agatha said, pulling back and wiping at Angel’s cheeks. “I think you should take my room. You’re already settled into it. If that’s okay with Allanon and Ciara.” she glanced at us.

“That’s perfect.” Allanon smiled. “But the question becomes, who’s turn is it to wash the dishes?” he winked at me.

There was a general scraping of chairs as the youngsters made their escape.

Diana and Eretria were excused on account of not being able to reach the sink which left Allanon, myself, Mom, Dad, Granda, Ander and Arion.

“I think we’ve been nominated.” I laughed.

“Come on, brother,” Arion clapped his hand on Ander’s shoulders. “We can wash them if someone else will dry them.”

“I’m the King. Shouldn’t I get excused?” he asked.

“You’re not the king here, little brother. Come on.” Arion said, tugging Ander out of his chair.

He sighed and went with Arion into the kitchen, grumbling all the way.

I laughed as I got up and started stacking dishes.

“You know something, Ciara.” Granda said as he followed me into the kitchen. “This is what it was like back in my day. Oh, we didn’t have this fancy set up and we didn’t treat kings like scullery boys, but this sense of community and youngsters. It was a great deal like this.”

“I’m glad I’m bringing it back.” I said and set my stack down by Arion as Granda set his by Ander.

“Are Angel’s parents still alive?” I asked, moving to start drying the dishes that Ander washed.

“They’re in the dungeons at Arborlon. I gave instructions that she was not allowed down to see them, nor were they allowed to see her.” Ander shook his head. “I can’t begin to imagine how they could treat her like that.”

“Makes me wonder how Father would have reacted if one of us had shown a power like that.” Arion said.

“He would have likely removed everything flammable from your room.” Allanon said, setting his stack down by Arion. “And then gone searching for me.”

“Would he have found you?” Arion asked curiously.

“For you and your brothers, yes.” Allanon said and there was a quiet sadness in his voice. “Eventine loved you. He would have done anything for you.”

“Hm.” was all Arion said. Allanon frowned.

“Do you not believe me?” he asked.

“It’s not that.” Arion said. “It’s just… After Aine died… It seemed as though we were being held to impossible standards. As though neither of us were good enough to stand in Aine’s shadow.”

“It’s easy to imagine how things might have been.” Granda said. “It’s a trap we all fall into, at one time or another. Some can crawl out of it. Others…” he shrugged.

We fell silent as we did the dishes and afterwards Arion and Ander excused themselves to go for a walk and talk.

“So,” Allanon said when we found ourselves alone. “Instead of waiting for that other present tonight, what do you say about getting it now?” he curled his arm around my waist and pressed kisses to my neck.

“Ooh, I like that idea.” I said, turning to kiss him. We slipped away and into our suite. Wil had organized a snowball war and my father was in charge of the opposing side. Amberle was with Diana and Eretria in the living room, so we had some free time.

“Here.” Allanon said, pulling a wide flat box out from his closet.

“I thought you meant the other present was sex, not an actual present.” I said, taking it from him.

“Open it.” he grinned, anticipation clear on his face.

I pulled the lid off and moved the paper aside.

And my eyes widened.

“Oh, it’s beautiful.” I said, lifting the teal corset out of the box. Intricate black lace followed the topline of the cups and down to where it flattened into the stomach portion. Black piping highlighted the curve of the corset and another set ran down the middle of the cups to the bottom of the corset. In the bottom half of either section, lace came from the outer black piping to the next set from the cups, highlighting the bottom of the corset. Dangling from that were straps with clips on the end of them.

“There’s more.” Allanon said, sitting down to watch.

I narrowed my eyes at him, but he just grinned back.

Setting the corset aside, I grinned when I saw matching panties and thigh high stockings.

“Really?” I asked, smiling. He flushed a little, but grinned back.

“As much for me as they are for you.” his grin widened.

“I _suppose_ I could try them on now.” I said slowly, watching his eyes darken at the idea.

“I think,” he said thickly. “That it’s a better idea to wait until tonight.” he rose and kissed me. “I want to take my time taking them off of you.” he murmured. I moaned softly.

“In the meantime.” I pulled away and put the corset back in the box and moved it to sit on the table in the room. “I think we can indulge ourselves.” I said and pushed him back onto the bed.

~~~

A polite knock on the door woke us out of our doze.

“Go away.” I muttered, burying my face in Allanon’s neck. He held me tighter and kissed my cheek.

“What is it?” he called.

“We need you two to come down.” Dad said, his voice serious.

“Is it Liam?” I asked, sitting up and casting around for my clothes.

“Just come downstairs.” Dad said and we heard him leave the suite.

“What on earth could it be?” I asked as I tugged my jeans on and wiggled into the long sleeve shirt I’d been wearing.

“I don’t know, but I don’t like Atticus’ tone.” Allanon said grimly as he pulled a shirt on over his pants.

We entered the living room and I went cold as ice when I saw Justine and a small collection of Homeguard standing in the living room, clearly having been arguing with Granda.

Liam, thankfully, was nowhere to be seen.

“No. Absolutely not. You leave my home _right now_.” I said, reaching for Moralltach.

“I have a right to my nephew.” she said.

“Get them out of here.” I spat at Ander, pointing at the Homeguard.

“Leave us.” Ander commanded. The Homeguard nodded and left the room.

“You can’t keep me from him.” she said, looking a little less sure.

“I warned you what would happen if you tried this.” Allanon rumbled.

“Ander, Arion, Diana, close your eyes.” I said and approached Justine.

“I demand to see him!” she said loudly. I paused and tried to rein my anger in.

“You saw him. You were warned.” I grabbed her arm and marched her to the door. “I’m giving you _one_ chance. Leave. Do not come back.”

“He is my nephew. I have the right to raise him.” she said stubbornly.

I was caught between overwhelming anger and fear that she was right and the fact that we had _finally_ built a solid bond with Liam and she was threatening it. I didn’t want to outright murder her, but I couldn’t let her take Liam either.

Then I made a decision.

“You know what, you’re right, you do.” I said and shoved her out the door, slamming it shut behind me.

~~

“Do I want to know what you’ve done?” Allanon asked when I came in, covered in snow and carrying Moralltach.

“I wiped her memory of her sister and Liam.” I said, sheathing Moralltach. “Completely erased it. Her parents died years ago and now, as far as she knows, she’s an only child. The only one left in her family.” I sank down onto the couch and put my head in my hands. “I couldn’t… I couldn’t stand the thought that she _might_ have been right. That she might have had a claim to Liam.” I shook my head. “And I couldn’t bring myself to outright kill her either.”

“You’re a good person.” Allanon said, sitting beside me and curling his arm around me. “A better person than I am. Had it been me, I would have walked out with her and come back with blood on my blade.”

“I just… _I_ _couldn’t do it_. I _wanted_ to. The minute I saw her I wanted to cut her skin and watch her scream as the necrotic enchantment killed her slowly.” I looked at him. “But I just couldn’t. I couldn’t murder her.”

“You did the next best thing. Now we don’t have to worry about it.” Allanon kissed my temple and pulled me into his arms.

We sat in silence for a while until Dad poked his head in.

“You’re back.” he said quietly.

“Yeah.” I said, watching him sit in a chair.

“Did you kill her?” he asked, his voice carefully emotionless.

“I wanted to. The minute I saw her.” I said, fists clenching. “But I didn’t. I erased any memory she had of her sister and Liam.”

“I’m proud of you, Ciara.” he said, smiling a little.

“I’m not.” I said and closed my eyes, leaning against Allanon.

~~~

That evening, around the dinner table, the mood was quiet and I just pushed the food around on my plate.

“Aren’t you hungry, Mama?” Liam asked, concern in his eyes.

“I’m all right, sunshine. Just… it’s been a long day.” I smiled. He nodded and went back to eating. After a minute, I couldn’t stand it anymore. “Excuse me.” I said, getting up and leaving the table.

I stamped into my boots and grabbed my jacket on the way out the door. Unsurprisingly, I wound up in the barn and leaned against Artaq’s stall door, listening as the horses munched their grain.

A more soothing sound I had yet to find.

I stared at the pasture, noting that the snow was coming down heavily enough that even the freshest of hoof prints were disappearing.

The idea that we could have lost Liam today crawled up my throat and curled there, making it very hard to breathe and blurring my vision.

I laid my head on my arms and tried to suck in deep breaths to stay calm.

“Easy, lass.” Granda’s voice came from next to me as I sobbed. “Easy now.” he wrapped me in his arms and let me cry, beating on his shoulder once or twice. “It’s all right now. Your wee one’s safely surrounded by his family and you won’t lose him.”

“I could have. She could have taken him and I couldn’t have stopped her.” I sobbed and he rubbed my back, rocking me a little.

“Never you mind about that. Worse come to worse, I’d have taken her outback meself.” he said, slipping into Old Irish. “Ye’ve no cause to fret now. Yer a tender-hearted thing, but yer lucky I’m not fer restraint.”

I laughed wetly, my forehead against his shoulder.

“Ye’ve always had me back, Granda. I’m mighty thankful fer it.” I looked up at him and he wiped my cheeks.

“Ye know I love ye, even if I ain’t the best at showin’ it. An’ there ain’t a thing I wouldn’t do for ye.” he kissed my cheek. “Now, let’s be gettin’ back inside. ‘Tis terrible cold out here and me in naught but a few layers.”

“Da never did teach ye that binding from the Morrigan, did he?” I asked, leaning against his side as we went back in.

“I think he likes seein’ me shiver. Gives him some sick pleasure.” he winked at me and I laughed.

“I’ll teach it to ye, if ye’d like.” I said.

“Aye, I would at that. But let’s do it where it’s warm. ‘Tis a bit nippy out here.” he said, shivering.

Allanon was pacing when we finally entered the kitchen and his shoulders dropped in relief when he saw me, though his brow furrowed when he saw I’d been crying.

“Thank you, Owen.” he said quietly.

“Your welcome, lad. Sometimes having a different shoulder to cry on helps.” Granda kissed my cheek. “Feelin’ better, wee lass?” he asked in Old Irish.

“Aye, Granda. But I ain’t been a wee lass in ages.” I replied.

“Yer always a wee lass to me.” he kissed my forehead and patted Allanon’s shoulder as he passed.

“Anything I can do?” he asked when I walked over to wrap my arms around him.

“Just… Don’t let me smother Liam with attention too much over the next few days.” I said, looking up at him.

“I’ll see what I can do.” he kissed me gently. “Did he call you ‘wee lass’?” Allanon asked as we went to the living room.

“Aye. Granda used to call me that when I was little. Been forever since the last time he called me that. And how did you pick it out?” I asked.

“I’ve been listening to you teach Catania. I’ve picked up a few words.” he shrugged.

“I can teach it to you as well.” I paused before we reached the living room.

“I would like that.” he said and ran his fingers through my hair. “ _Are_ you all right?”

“I’ll get there.”


	3. Epilogue

Over the next few hours, the snow piled up at an alarming rate and by the next morning we were thoroughly snowed in.

“Oh, for-“ I broke off when I opened the front door and it was half way up the door. “Great.” I said and closed it before the wind blew too much snow and cold inside.

“I need to get back to Arborlon.” Ander frowned.

“Aye and we said we’d only be gone a couple days from the Grove.” Dad said. “I’d offer to shift you, but with Diana so far along…” Dad shook his head.

“Isn’t there something you can do, Mama?” Liam asked, looking up at me as I sat on the other side of him and Allanon.

“Not really, sweetheart.” I said, smiling down at him. “We’re supposed to defend the earth, not mess with her weather.”

“It’s a safe bet that even if we got out of here, the rest of the roads would be snowed in and we’d get stuck in the middle of nowhere.” Diana said, shaking her head.

Then she winced and I exchanged looks with Mom.

“Feeling all right, Diana?” I asked cautiously.

“Yeah, just the baby kicking.” she smiled, laying her hand on her stomach.

<Granuaile says she thinks it might be more than that.> Orlaith said, eyes looking at me from where she and Oberon were laying in front of the fire.

 _I think so too, Mom_. I said as Diana winced again.

“Little fighter, huh?” Arion kissed her temple, putting his hand on her belly.

“Something like that.” Diana said and yelped.

“Okay.” I got up and went over to her. “Let’s go have a look.” I said and pulled her gently to her feet.

“What do you mean?” Diana asked as she stood.

“You’ve been wincing all morning. I know the signs.” I said and gently shuffled her to the bedroom they’d been staying in.

“What signs? You don’t think-“ she broke off again and let out a cry of pain.

“I do indeed. And so does the little one.” I said and hurried her a little faster to the bedroom.

“It’s too early, isn’t it?” Arion asked.

“No, I’d say she’s about due.” Mom said behind us. “No offense, but I think you and Ander should stay out here.”

“But-“ Ander protested.

“The first ones usually take a little while.” Mom said. “Let us check and then you can come in.” she stepped into the bedroom behind us and closed the door.

~~

“You two can go in.” I said, coming out a few minutes later. “Just don’t upset her or I’ll throw you both out by the ear.”

They exchanged glances and entered the room quietly.

“Today?” Allanon asked as I sat on the arm of the couch.

“Probably. Her contractions are close, but it will be a bit yet. She’s not,” I made a widening motion with my hand. “There yet.”

“I’d ask, but I don’t think I want to know yet.” Eretria said, her already impressive stomach not quite ripe yet.

“You will.” I said. “It’s a fairly straightforward process and Diana’s right on track, so it shouldn’t be a hard birth. The first baby always takes a bit to get rolling as the body does it for the first time.”

“Mama, how do babies come out?” Liam asked curiously.

“Well,” I said, trying think about how to say this in an age appropriate fashion. “There’s a sort of… tunnel,” Allanon choked on a laugh. “And when the baby is grown enough, the woman’s body helps it to leave that tunnel. It’s pretty painful, so if you hear yelling, don’t be afraid.”

“How does the baby get in there in the first place?” Liam asked.

“It’s a bit complicated.” I said.

“Not that complicated. Most people seem to manage all right.” Allanon said grinning and I scowled at him.

“It’s…” I tried think of a good way to put it. “It’s a bit like when we planted the garden. You know how we put the seed in the ground and let it grow? It’s like that.”

“Oh, so the ground needs to be plowed first!” Liam said and Allanon burst out laughing, falling sideways on the couch.

“Something like that.” I said, laughing. “It’s kind of hard to explain, sweetheart. We can be a bit more detailed when you get older.”

“Okay!” Liam said brightly and looked over as Allanon gasped for breath, still laughing. “Why is Da laughing so hard?”

“Because he’s feeling very silly today.” I said, shaking my head. “Why don’t you go see if you can find Bandon?”

“Okay!” Liam hopped off the couch and ran towards the kitchen.

“You know,” I said, watching him suck in deep breaths while trying to calm down. “It isn’t _that_ funny.”

“I beg to differ.” he retorted, still chuckling. “And it’s true.” he kissed me.

“I’m hungry. Come on, Wil.” Eretria said, getting up and pulling Wil after her.

“I’ve been thinking.” I said, sinking down into the couch next to Allanon. “I should take my bindings off for a little bit. Let the hormones circulate for a while. It’s been about a year since I did that.”

“If you think it’s a good idea.” Allanon said, kissing my cheek. “But why tell me? It’s your decision.”

“Because it affects you too. One week of the month we wouldn’t be able to have sex. Well, we could but it might be a bit disgusting.” I said.

“Oh, no, I’ve never encountered blood before.” he deadpanned and I laughed.

“I’m serious.” I said and he kissed me.

“As am I. You do what you feel is best and we’ll sort it out from there.” he wrapped his arms around me.

“All right, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” I said and kissed him. Then I closed my eyes, laid my hand on my stomach and murmured softly.

I winced at the sharp twinge in my stomach, then relaxed after it went away.

“All done.” I said.

“Why the wince?” he asked.

“It always does that when the binding’s released. Not sure why.” I shrugged. Before he could answer, Diana yelled and a very harried looking Ander appeared.

“I think she’s ready to have the baby.” he said.

“Sounds like.” I kissed Allanon and got up as Mom appeared around the corner.

“Showtime!” she said brightly.

“One on each side.” I said, pushing Arion towards Diana’s left side as Ander was already on her right.

“You’re doing great, Diana.” I said as Mom pulled out extra pillows to prop her up with.

“Doesn’t feel-“ she let out a yell. “Great.” she panted.

“I bet.” I said as Mom doubled up blankets to give her something to rest her legs on. “All right, I’m gonna take a look and we can see how it’s going.”

“Badly.” she snarled at me.

“Well, it’s good you’ve got the fighting spirit going.” I joked and if she hadn’t been hit by another contraction, I think she’d have kicked me.

“I’d feel a lot better with something to push against.” Diana panted.

“All right.” I said and looked at the two men. “Arion, you get up behind Diana and support her. Ander, come down and let her push against your hands. Mom, you get the other foot.”

Getting into position, I smiled at Diana.

“Next contraction, Diana, I want you to push. When it stops, you stop. And remember to breathe.” I said. She rolled her eyes at me.

“ _You_ remember to breathe.” she growled, then groaned when the contraction hit again.

In a few minutes, the head was halfway out and one more had rest of it with the body following a moment later.

“Good job!” I said and picked up the clamp Mom had gotten while we waited for Diana to be ready. I clamped down on the umbilical cord and snipped it off.

“Well done, sweetheart.” Arion said, kissing her temple. Ander was staring at the baby, smiling. Mom handed me a towel that been warming by the fire and I rubbed the baby down, patting gently but firmly until it cried in agitation.

“What is it?” Diana asked, exhaustion in her voice. “Ander? What is it?”

“A little boy.” he said, smiling up at them, tears in his eyes. “We’ve got a little boy.”

“Let me see.” Diana said as I tossed the other towel away and took the clamp off the umbilical cord and wrapped the baby in a fresh towel.

“Here you go, mama.” I said, laying the baby so it rested on her shoulder and by her neck. “Make sure to have plenty of skin contact. It’s very important right after birth. You and the fathers both.” I said, smiling as Ander came over to sit and admire their child.

“Ciara.” Mom said and I came back over as Diana delivered the placenta.

“I’ll take care of it.” I said and looked at the little group and felt a pang of jealousy.

“Go on, sweetheart. Let’s give them some privacy.” Mom said and I smiled a little, before heading out.

“What is it?” Granda asked as everyone else crowded around.

“A baby boy. We haven’t weighed or measured him yet. He’s too busy being admired.” I grinned and went to dispose of the afterbirth.

“Perhaps we will be lucky to experience something like that soon.” Allanon said as I threw the afterbirth in the fire in the kitchen.

“Hopefully.” I said, smiling a little.

He wrapped his arm around me and kissed my temple.

~~

Four months later, I woke up to my stomach roiling. I bolted out of bed for the water closet and emptied my stomach. I laid my head against the cool seat and panted for breath.

“Ciara? Sweetheart, are you all right?” Allanon asked, kneeling beside me.

“Do I look all right?” I demanded and heaved again, my back protesting.

Allanon murmured something quietly and I sighed in relief as the muscles in my back relaxed as warmth filtered through them.

“Thanks, love.” I said and relaxed against his side, the feeling passing.

My hand landed against my stomach and I felt something flutter under it.

I had figured it was just a muscle spasm when it happened again.

“What on earth?” I muttered, laying my hand on my stomach and casting out.

Was it a digestive issue? If so, I could do something about it right then.

“Ciara? What’s wrong? Did you eat something that didn’t agree with you?” he asked.

“Um.” I said, eyes wide.

“What is it?” he asked. “Ciara, what is it?” panic began to lace his voice.

“I, uh, I think…” I trailed off and felt the telltale flutter again. “Apparently I’m pregnant.” I said, turning to look at him, an uncontrollable smile on my face.

“That’s… But… How-“ he broke off, shaking his head. “No, I know _how_ , but how-how.” he waved his hand between us.

“The last time I refreshed my bindings was before the fight for the Ellcrys.” I said and froze. “Oh. Oh, my.”

“Well, what happened that-“ he broke off and our eyes met. “When- But then-“

“So… You _haven’t_ been shooting blanks. And it’s been me that’s…” I trailed off, eyes welling.

“Oh, sweetheart, no, it’s not your fault.” Allanon pulled me into his lap. “You couldn’t have known. And we’ve been so busy. It’s all right.”

I sniffled and sighed.

“Apparently I’m going to be a weepy pregnant lady.” I said and smiled. “’Pregnant lady’. I like that.” I grinned as his face lit up.

“We’re going to have a baby.” he said, laying his hand protectively over mine and kissing me firmly. Then he pulled back, making a face.

“I need to rinse my mouth?” I asked, laughing.

“Please.”

~~~

“It was that simple?” Catania said when told them a breakfast.

“Apparently.” I said, grinning. “When I thought he was dying I directed healing magic into him however it could go and, well, it went however it could go.”

“I guess it’s a good thing you didn’t do whatever you did before last summer.” Bandon said, grinning brightly at me. “Would have made that mess in Louisiana a lot worse.”

“I hadn’t thought of that.” I said, smiling at Liam clambered into my lap.

“Careful, son.” Allanon said and I rolled my eyes fondly at him.

“The baby’s just a tiny collection of cells, Allanon, he can’t hurt it.” I said and kissed Liam’s hair, which had grown since I’d had to shave it off. “Besides, won’t be long before he can’t fit onto my lap, even after the baby.”

“When is the baby coming?” Liam asked, lifting up my shirt to look at my belly. I laughed as he stared at it, as if waiting for it to grow.

“Well, if it happened in January, even after that week of bleeding, that would put the count sometime in October. The further along I get, the better able we’ll be to tell when my due date is.” I said and laughed as Liam gently poked my belly.

“There’s a baby in there?” he asked, looking up at me.

“Yup! And it’s a wee little thing that’s trying to decide what it’s going to be and what it’s going to look like.” I said.

“How does it decide that?” Liam asked, setting my shirt down to lean against me.

“Well, there are things called genetics,” I said, cupping his hands in mine. “They’re what decide how big your ears are,” I tugged gently on one. “What color your hair is,” I pressed a brief kiss to his head. “And even what color your skin is. And right now they’re having a tussle to see what your little sib is going to look like.”

“Does it hurt? Having them fight in your belly?” he asked, looking up at me.

“Well,” I said. “There are going to be mornings when I won’t be able to move far from a water closet. And as time goes on, I’ll start to get tired easier and then my belly’s going to get this big.” I held his arms out straight. “Maybe a little less.”

“Oh.” Liam said and smiled at me. “I can’t wait to meet them.”

“Me either, sunshine, me either.” I snuggled him close and he rested his head against my chest.

Then he looked up at me again.

“Does this mean that Da had to plow you first?” Liam asked.

Bandon choked on his drink, coughing harshly as Allanon turned dark red, burying his face in his hands.

Catania and I laughed our asses off while Angel just looked confused.

“And he did a very good job of it.”


End file.
